BIXI makes use of computer-chip based, solar-powered, WiFi-enabled base stations. Because the stations are entirely wireless, they can be easily moved, or packed up for the winter season (when BIXI’s service is not available).

Montreal spent 15 million Canadian dollars (about $13 million) to develop the system, and it was budgeted to ultimately become financially self-sufficient on the basis of user fees, but controversy arose in 2011, when on-bike advertising was introduced to provide a new revenue stream and vandals took to defacing them in protest.

An important component of the program’s revenue stream is the sale of the Montreal-developed system to other cities, as described in the service’s budget projections for 2012 via this excerpt from the Montreal Gazette:

It expects $91 million in revenue. Of that, $80 million will be from sales of Bixi systems to other cities, including Chicago, which this week signed a $15-million, 3,000-bike deal.

Bixi says it expects to post a $10.8 million profit in 2012.

But Bixi still owes the city of Montreal $35 million of the $37 million it borrowed to get the service off the ground. Bixi is currently repaying that loan at a rate of $220,000 per month, Philibert said.

In Montreal in 2012, Bixi expects to reach 50,000 members and bring in $5.1 million in revenue from users.

For the first time, Bixi has disclosed how much it will get from the three sponsors whose logos are on bikes. In 2012, Bixi will collect $2.1 million from those deals.

Another $200,000 will come from ads on bike stations.

In total, the Montreal operation will bring in $7.4 million. Bixi will spend $7.3 million on operations, marketing, administration and research and development.